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“My name is Marlowe Jones,” I said as I crossed the street. Chaos was actually leading me at this point. She knew when she’d spotted a friend.

“I know your name is Marlowe Jones. A lot of us were at the school board meeting where they voted whether or not to hire you. You sure got a raw deal at that prissy school, but we all liked your spunk. It was an easy vote, it ended up being unanimous.”

I winced. I’d had no choice but to use Sue as my reference. It sounds like she made me sound better than I was.

She motioned me to join her on the porch. “Well, that’s real nice, Mizz…?”

“Lettie Magill. I was born and raised here in Jasper Creek. Followed my husband for his job for a few years when he moved to Dallas, but we came back after six years. So, I know the lay of the land. You come on in, and I’ll tell you what to expect at the school.”

She was a lot to take in, but she seemed sincere. “Can I come over after Chaos is done with her morning constitutional?”

Lettie laughed. “I would prefer it. If I hadn’t seen your resume, and listened to your accent, I would think with that big fancy word, that you were a Northerner.”

“Nope, I bleed country,” I laughed.

“Well, come on back. If I don’t answer when you knock, just let yourself in. The doorbell is busted. I’ll probably have my fancy standing mixer on and can’t hear you knock.”

Only in the South.

“Okay, I shouldn’t be more than a half hour. And I can certainly leave Chaos at my house,” I offered.

“Nonsense. Icicle needs someone to play with.”

I grinned. “Okay, Lettie. I’ll be back in a half hour or so. Thank you for the invitation.”

Lettie looked up from her Kitchen Aid mixer. “Glad you made it,” she said as she turned it off. “Sit yourself down.” She indicated the little nineteen-seventies dinette with the orange vinyl covering on it that was set in the kitchen.

“I set out some food for your dog. What is his name again?”

“Her name is Chaos.” I told her. I was charmed that she thought of putting out some food for my dog. “You had dog food?”

“I had some left-over brisket and gravy and threw it into my food processor.”

“Lettie, that was extremely kind of you.” I was still holding onto her leash when Chaos spotted the bowl with the food. She sat down and looked back at me.

“Well, aren’t you polite?” Lettie smiled. “Go ahead, dig in.”

I nodded at Chaos and unhooked her leash. I watched as she walked calmly to the dish. Not her normal rampage toward food. Then her ladylike manners went down the drain as she shoved her muzzle into the bowl and started chowing down.

Lettie and I laughed.

“Now for us.”

She pulled open the oven door, and the heavenly smell of coffeecake wafted through the kitchen. My stomach grumbled. I guess neither of the Jones girls were behaving ladylike this morning.

“I hope you like this. I’ve also put together fruit cups. A friend of mine has an orchard, and she always sends me home with fresh peaches and pears, when they’re in season. What would you like to drink? Coffee? Juice? Milk?”

“I would kill for a cup of coffee. Chaos needed to be taken on a walk before I had a chance to make a pot.”

Chaos lifted her head up when she heard her name. I smiled and shook my head. She went back to eating.

Soon I had the necessary caffeine in my system and a feast in front of me. I liked Lettie’s style. There was no little dainty piece of cake. She gave me a healthy slice, and she brought butter. She was my kind of woman.

“Did you get a chance to talk to Beau when you rented his place?” Lettie asked.

I nodded my head and swallowed my bite of pear.

“Yeah, we FaceTimed for a few days. I got the feeling he was kind of lonely for conversation that wasn’t military related.”